In Norway, 89% of new cars sold in 2024 were electric, the Road Traffic Information Board (OFV) announced on Thursday, moving closer to its goal of all-electric in 2025. Of the 128,691 new registrations, 114,400 were electric vehicles, according to the OFV. “There is therefore only 10% left to achieve the 2025 objective,” underlined the Council in a press release.
The share of electric cars in total sales increased from 82.4% in 2023 to 88.9% in 2024. Displaying the most ambitious objective in the world, Norway, although a large producer of hydrocarbons, does not want to sell only new “zero-emission” cars from 2025, ten years ahead of the European Union’s objective, of which it is not a part.
“It is crucial to maintain the incentives that favor the purchase of electric cars if the government and Parliament are to achieve the goal they have set for themselves,” said Øyvind Solberg Thorsen, director of the OFV, cited in the press release. Led in particular by Tesla, all-electric represented 96.4% of new registrations in September in Norway, compared to 17.3% in Europe.
The Scandinavian country has come a long way: in 2012, the market share of electric vehicles was only 2.8%. At the turn of the century, the authorities exempted electric cars from taxes (VAT, registration certificate, weight tax), making the purchase of all-electric cars competitive compared to thermal cars, which are heavily taxed.
Although reduced, the tax exemptions remained and were added to other incentives: electric cars have long benefited from privileges, such as free urban stickers and parking in public car parks. Another flagship measure, in 2005, the government allowed electric cars to use public transport corridors, thus avoiding traffic jams.
